United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest in United Therapeutics surged by 82.2% in August, reaching 2,860,000 shares, indicating increased investor pessimism.
• Several company insiders, including the CFO and COO, have sold significant amounts of stock, with total sales in the last quarter reaching approximately $39.4 million.
• Institutional investors own a significant majority of the company, holding 94.08% of United Therapeutics' stock, highlighting strong institutional confidence in the firm.

United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,860,000 shares, anincreaseof82.2% from the July 31st total of 1,570,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 638,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.5 days. Approximately6.5% of the company's shares are short sold. Approximately6.5% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 638,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.5 days.

Insider Transactions at United Therapeutics

In other news, Director Christopher Causey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.21, for a total value of $1,269,630.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,865 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,058,916.65. This represents a 38.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Paul A. Mahon sold 11,000 shares of United Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $385.21, for a total value of $4,237,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 36,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,168,409.01. This represents a 23.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 106,181 shares of company stock worth $35,537,239. 10.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. F m Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. F m Investments LLC now owns 2,580 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $741,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,235 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $355,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of United Therapeutics by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,651 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,900,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. WealthCollab LLC lifted its position in United Therapeutics by 55.9% in the 2nd quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 106 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its stake in United Therapeutics by 1.7% in the second quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,353 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $676,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.08% of the company's stock.

United Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UTHR traded down $5.90 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $394.62. 623,780 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 865,507. The company has a market cap of $17.80 billion, a PE ratio of 15.40, a P/E/G ratio of 6.11 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $309.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $305.60. United Therapeutics has a one year low of $266.98 and a one year high of $436.95.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $6.80 by ($0.39). The company had revenue of $798.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $802.13 million. United Therapeutics had a net margin of 40.36% and a return on equity of 18.73%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.85 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that United Therapeutics will post 24.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UTHR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on United Therapeutics from $348.00 to $328.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on United Therapeutics from $400.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of United Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $330.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on United Therapeutics from $314.00 to $463.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $429.62.

About United Therapeutics

United Therapeutics Corporation, a biotechnology company, engages in the development and commercialization of products to address the unmet medical needs of patients with chronic and life-threatening diseases in the United States and internationally. The company offers Tyvaso DPI, an inhaled dry powder via pre-filled and single-use cartridges; Tyvaso, an inhaled solution via ultrasonic nebulizer; Remodulin (treprostinil) injection to treat patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) to diminish symptoms associated with exercise; Orenitram, a tablet dosage form of treprostinil, to delay disease progression and improve exercise capacity in PAH patients; and Adcirca, an oral PDE-5 inhibitor to enhance the exercise ability in PAH patients.